Blue Water Life
by FullMetal Alchemistress
Summary: Heath/Fly After 7 years, Bec asks the gang to come back and help her out with the new guys. She hopes some one-on-one will break them out of a rut. But the relationships in the house changed-Fly and Heath aren't even speaking. TITLE CHANGED!
1. Chapter 01

**So. Yeah. Not enough good Heath/Fly fics for my tastes. Thought I'd….rectify that. The other couples will be here, but Heath/Fly is the main one. This was originally intended to be a oneshot. Well. Last time I wrote a oneshot it ended up being 17,000 words so I'm going to make this a short chapter fic. That H2O oneshot was just….a beast. It took me 4 months to write DX**

**WARNINGS: I haven't seen much of the third season—I've seen the first two episodes and the episode with Fly. So please don't expect Garry. Also, chapters will be short but frequent, so calm your titlery.**

It all started with a phone call four days ago. It had been seven years since they left Solar Blue. Bec had called around about a month and a half before the anniversary. The 2012 year was in a serious rut and she couldn't get the kids to shake it. So what better way than to bring in some outside help—people who had been in their position before? And it could double as a seven year reunion for them, considering they had never all been in the same room at once since the day they left.

So that's how Heath found himself standing at the front door of the Solar Blue boarding house, once again, less than seven years after he had finally managed to leave.

He took a deep breath and continued to stand there. Should he knock? It felt strange to do so since this had been his home for over a year. He lifted his fist but couldn't bring himself to make contact with the door.

"Are you gonna knock or just stand there for the rest of the afternoon?"

Heath turned around in surprise to see a young boy about sixteen carrying a bag of groceries. "I'm sorry?"

The boy let out a breath and shifted the bag in his arms. "You're here for Bec I'm assuming?" Heath opened the door for the kid.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" He followed the kid to the all too familiar kitchen. The house was quiet. It seemed empty.

"A whole group of people arrived yesterday morning." He slid the bag onto the counter and began to put things away.

"Right. I'm always late."

"Yeah, well," the kid leaned over the sink and took a look out towards the beach. "By the looks of it, the party has started—everyone's out surfing."

Heath smiled at the kid's downfallen look before he reached into the bag and began to help put things away. "Well then, we'll just have to hurry up and join them."

"I'm Grayson, by the way," the boy muttered.

"Heath."

He sent Grayson out ahead of him when they were done and went back to his car to change and grab a board from the shed. He hesitated, not knowing what to expect. Standing on the deck he scanned the waves, but didn't recognize a single face other than Grayson's.

The sun was beginning to touch the horizon and a flicker of light caught his eye. He glanced to the source to find a small fire burning in the center of a circle of people. These people he recognized. He dug his board into the sand and jammed his hands into the pockets of his board shorts to keep them from shaking.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized as he approached them. A look of confusion washed over most of the faces and he groaned. "Don't tell me you lot have forgotten me already? It's only been seven years, I mean, I guess that is quite a bit of time when you really think about it but—"

"Heath!" a dark haired girl yelled, jumping up from the sand and nearly tackling him to the ground.

"What? No way!" Numerous denials erupted from the group.

"Hey, Bec," Heath laughed. She hadn't changed at all. Hair still as dark and wavy as ever, face still as round, eyes still as bright.

"How've you been?" Perri asked after she had managed to pry him away from Bec.

"I'm surviving," he smiled.

"We were just about to head out and teach the kids a lesson," Matt informed him as he stood and shook the sand off.

"You haven't lost your touch, have you?" Edge smirked, knocking him in the shoulder.

Heath pushed him away and laughed. "We'll see." He did a quick head count as they made their way to the surf. "Hey, where're Anna and Fly?" he asked Bec. They hung back on the water's edge while the others paddled out.

"Anna couldn't make it—she's on tour with a kite boarding team. Said she'll come whenever she has a break."

"And Fly?" he hesitated.

Bec gave him a knowing smile before pointing out to a wave off to the far right. There, near the reef, was a little blonde dot. Heath watched as Fly flipped and jumped around on the wave skillfully. She dominated the water.

Bec eyed him for a moment. "Whatever happened to you two?"

"Our relationship was never really defined," he muttered.

"Oh? And how would you define it now?"

"On a fine line between love and hate." Her eyebrows pulled together but he just shook his head and waded through the water. "Let's see just how much I've forgotten."


	2. Chapter 02

**Yeah yeah. I know. I said they'd be short. DO YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME? I set out to write something short and it's like 6 times longer than I wanted it to be.**

**I've got college exams this week, but summer break starts next week (which is strange because summer is still a month away) But I'm not complaining!**

"You know, Heath," Perri started as they all sat on their boards in the water simply talking, "I didn't recognize you at first."

"Why not?" he laughed. "I haven't changed."

"Yes you have," Edge disagreed. "You didn't have the long hair or the stubble when we went on our surfing safari." Heath ran a hand through his hair. He wouldn't consider it long. Sure, it tucked behind his ears and he could probably pull most of it back into a pony tail. He rubbed his chin, which he would admit was a bit rough—unintentionally.

"You guys went on a surfing safari without me?" Matt yelled, splashing Edge in mock anger.

"I needed someone to surf with after I quit the circuit," Edge defended, splashing back. "You had your _girlfriend _to keep you company."

"Enough," Perri moaned.

"Alright everyone, let's pull it in," Bec called out loudly. "It's getting too dark to see."

Heath watched the waves continue to crash down in front of him. Everyone else turned their boards and headed for the beach. "Just one more go," he said suddenly, paddling out to catch one more wave.

"Heath!" Bec tried to call, but he ignored her.

Heath's board skimmed across the surface of the water, a feeling of elation and adrenaline refilled him like it had been doing all afternoon. He had seriously missed surfing. How could he have given this up—even if only for a year or so?

The wave broke in front of him and Heath could feel himself lose balance. Before he could crash, he jumped of his board and belly flopped into the wave. He tumbled around underwater, tangling in his chord as he fought his way to the surface. A few stray rocks on the ocean floor scuffed him up, but he knew it wasn't that bad from the dull sting.

"You're gonna set a bad example for the kids, Heath," Matt scolded jocularly once he had made it back to shore.

"It'll be alright," he laughed.

They grabbed their stuff and headed for the house. Heath stood in the corner of the kitchen near the sink, trying to be as stealthy as he could with a dishrag pressed into his side. Four of the six kids had gone to change and shower. There was still Grayson and a dark haired girl—Kacy—along with Bec, Edge, and Fly left in the kitchen. The three bathrooms having been filled up, the kitchen was his only option to clean his wound.

"Heath!" someone gasped. His head snapped up to find Edge staring directly at him. Or more specifically—his side. "You're bleeding all over the counter."

"What?" Bec turned away from her conversation with Fly, who was also acknowledging him for the first time that day.

"Am not," he denied automatically, trying to turn the bleeding mess away from them further.

"Let me see," Bec demanded, using her mother hen voice.

"I'm fine," he swatted her hand away, but she just grabbed his shoulder and jerked him away from the sink. The gash wasn't deep, but it was a good three or four inches in length. And it was now in full view of everyone in the kitchen.

"You get that out in the water?" Kacy asked.

"Well, he wasn't bleeding before that last wave," Edge muttered before biting into his sandwich.

Bec turned on the two kids. "This is why we come in when I say to come in," she warned them.

Grayson threw his hands up in defense. "Hey, I did this time! Anyways, we're gonna go work on our science project." He stood up and pulled Kacy towards the stairs.

"Edge, can you go get the first aid kit from the closet in the boys bathroom?"

"Sure," he sighed around a mouthful of sandwich.

"Ow, Bec," Heath grumbled when she splashed some hot water into the cut.

"Oh this is just the start," she snapped. "You're 25, Heath. You're not new to surfing. You shouldn't have gone out again."

"It's because I'm not new to it that it wasn't worse," he defended.

"Stay here. Try not to bleed on the floor," Bec pointed at him, heading for the stairs. "Edge should have found it by now."

An awkward silence rose in the kitchen. The only sound was Fly's fork hitting the plate every few seconds. Every moment they'd spent together since the first time he saw her flew through his head. The day he'd leant her his board so she could surf for the last girl's spot into the academy. Her birthday. Jane. Then there was when the winners were announced. And then three months after that when they stayed to help out with the newest group.

That was the last time he saw her in person. He knew it was his fault she wasn't talking to him. He'd sent that dumb e-mail about Annabel. He thought his best friend would have been happy for him. But obviously she hadn't been—still isn't. She never responded to that e-mail.

Or any of the dozens of e-mails after, for that matter.

He didn't blame her. But still—there was no point in their relationship where they had made their relationship an official and solid thing. So really, she kind of had no right to be mad. She should have responded.

"How have you been, Fly?" he asked in a sudden moment of bravery.

She looked up at him. "What?"

"How have you been?"

"Oh." She looked back down at her plate. "Decent."

"How is the pro circuit treating you?"

She took a deep breath. "It was amazing for the first three years. The last two were a bit…redundant. I felt like it was the same thing over and over."

"You got _bored _of the pro circuit?" he asked, shocked. "Well, what have you been doing lately?"

"Personal coaching here and there," she shrugged. Her refusal to meet him gaze hadn't gone unnoticed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you moved everything around," Edge's voice carried down the steps as both he and Bec thundered down them. He stopped on the bottom step. "I'm gonna go get changed and shower."

She pecked him on the lips as she passed him.

"Hey, I told you not to bleed on the floor," Bec groaned.

Looking down he noticed the blood had run into his shorts, mixed with the water still in them, and was now dripping onto the linoleum.

"Well, technically you said _try_."

Bec rolled her eyes. Wordlessly, Fly stood, brushed past Heath to drop her plate into the sink, and then bounced up the stairs.

"What did you do?" Bec asked suddenly, dipping a cotton ball into peroxide.

"What?"

"To Fly," Bec clarified, wetting a washcloth and handing it to him to clean the blood off himself.

"I don't know what you mean," he muttered. She handed him a band-aid with a flat look.

"You do, too. She was fine yesterday." Bec's face fell flat and her eyebrows pulled together. Heath pulled a band aid out of the kit. "Now that I think about it, any time _you _come up, she either changes the subject or goes silent."

"Bec," Heath sighed, carefully covering the wound, which had finally stopped bleeding. "It's a long story."

"Well, there are two sides to every story." She began to wipe the blood off the counter with bleach. Heath decided to get it off the floor. "I'm not going to rest until I get it out of both of you."

"Why?" he groaned.

Bec leaned against the counter and tilted her head back. "Fly has…she's the kind of person who will help anyone and everyone before she helps herself."

"I know that," Heath said quietly.

"She helped Matt and Perri when they were fighting, she helped Edge when he quit the circuit, and she's come back to help a lot of the new kids through their rough spots." Heath stayed quiet, taking it in. They cleaned in silence.

"Thanks, Bec," Heath whispered when they were done. She nodded with a smile and then headed for the office. Heath's jaw worked as he tried to find the right words. "It's just…" Bec stopped and turned to him. "Fly and I…we never really defined what we had."

"You said that earlier."

"I know—but that was the problem," he said quickly.

"I'm not following." She crossed her arms.

"We both had different ideas of where we were together," he explained slowly, sorrow creeping into his voice. "So, I think when I sent her that e-mail about my new girlfriend I might have ruined everything…"

"Heath!"

"It's too late to do anything about it now," he muttered, passing her to go get the rest of his luggage.

"Says who?" she mumbled to no one in particular.


	3. Chapter 03

**Another short one.**

Anyways, in case you're not aware, I live on the east coast of the US. And I've been doing quite a bit of research on Australia and the cultural differences (because that kind of stuff seriously interests me, especially with the Gay Marriage political nonsense going on these days, I like to see how other countries handle it.) Anyways, right now, here in America, it's late Spring. Summer is like three weeks away.

Current Temp in Greensboro US: 30 Celsius/86 Fahrenheit  
Current Temp in Sydney Australia: 16 Celsius/61 Fahrenheit

**Current Time in Greensboro US: 3:56 PM on Wednesday  
Current Time in Sydney Australia: 5:57 AM on Thursday**

**Anyways, I am just interested in the cultural stuff :D**

It was one of those mornings. The ones where you had trouble falling asleep the night before and then you wake up and you don't know why. Worst part about it is that you can almost never fall back asleep. Heath gave up. He kicked his blanket off and ventured quietly down the stairs.

It was still dark out so Heath was surprised to walk into the kitchen to see a girl sitting at the table.

"Can't sleep?" Her accent took him completely by surprise.

"You're American." Heath had never heard her speak-they had all been surfing and she was one of the few lucky enough to get a shower first. She linked out immediately afterwards.

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes. "It's been a pretty big culture shock. Part of me still thinks I'm at home where it's currently Fall and—" She glanced over at the clock which bore the time 5 AM. "—three in the afternoon yesterday."

"Michelle, right?"

"Call me Shelly."

Heath smiled and pulled down a glass from the cupboard. "Alright, Shelly," he smirked as he filled up his glass with water, "what are you doing up at this hour?"

She held up a book. "Science project due tomorrow. My worst subject."

"Mine, too. Sorry." She looked a little hopeless. "But you know, Matt is brilliant in science. I'm sure if you ask him before you leave for school, he'll take a look at it."

"For real?" Heath nodded. "Well, I've pretty much beat this dead horse with a stick." She pushed the books away from her. "So what do you do? What does Heath Carroll, loser of the Solar Blue wildcard 2005 do for a living."

Heath gave her a small grin, reached onto the counter and tossed a magazine to her. It landed on the table in front of her. It was a surf mag, naturally.

"Professional surfer?" she guessed.

"Close. Take a look at the photo credit for the cover." He lifted his cup to his lips to hide the smirk on his face.

She gave him a skeptic look, but flipped to the back pages. "Cover photo taken by…" she muttered. "No way."

"Yes way."

She looked up, face way too bright for five in the morning. "How is that close to being a pro surfer? You're a professional photographer? That's so cool."

"It's close enough. I get to hang out with all the pros."

"What were your favorite competitions that you've covered?"

Heath pressed his lips together and leaned forward onto the table to rest his chin on his arms. "A few years ago there was an all girls comp a few kilometers up the coast from here. Fly won that comp." Shelly gave him a look, her eyes darting to the space over his shoulder. He sat upright and then cautiously turned around. "Hey, sorry. Did we wake you?"

Fly just stood at the bottom of the stairs, a blank look on her face. "You were at that comp?" she asked finally. Her poker face held strong.

"Yeah—"

"And you didn't think to come say hi or anything?" A little bit of hurt was seeping into her tone. She shook her head suddenly and waved him away. "Nevermind. It doesn't matter. Sorry. I'm going for a run."

"Fly—" But she had already crossed the kitchen and exited, completely ignoring him.

There was a short silence before either one even moved. "Training isn't for another hour or so. I'm guessing that's enough time for a run. That way you won't need to warm up," Shelly suggested, standing up and stretching. "As for me—I'm gonna go get an hour's worth of sleep."

Heath nearly laughed at her attempted not-so-subtle subtlety. But he wasn't one to just let things like this slide. Fly had once been his best friend and sure—maybe he had let their problems go before—but now was the time to set the record straight. Maybe clearing the air would settle things down a bit.

And a run was exactly what he was going to do.


	4. Chapter 04

**Yes. Two chapters in one day. Go. Me. It's currently 12:30 AM my time and tomorrow is my last day of school so I'll probably forget to update. Sorry if I do. (I probably won't because I'm forever alone haha)**

A tinge of regret washed through Heath as he took off down the beach, following the foot prints in the sand that he knew belonged to Fly. He should give her space. If she wanted to work things out, she would have tried. Then again—she'd had several years' worth of space.

But still. He had sent tons of e-mails he had drafted even more. Not one had been returned and he'd be willing to bet she didn't read a single one. Knowing her, she would find it too tempting. She would just, in a moment of anger, delete it permanently. She knew how kind and forgiving she was, he knew it, too.

He pushed himself a little harder until he finally saw her in the distance, her tangled blond ponytail bouncing behind her. And in that moment Heath promised that this would be his last attempt to make amends.

"Why are you following me, Heath?" She asked flatly when he finally caught up and fell into step next to her. She kept her gaze straight ahead and refused to look at him. Not even a twitch of her eyes in his direction.

"Because I want to sort things about between us," he huffed. "You're not gonna go psycho on me like last time, are you?" Same old Heath. Always trying to lighten the situation by turning it into a joke. Maybe he hadn't changed as much as Fly had originally thought.

"I'm not fifteen anymore, Heath," she told him, her voice just as cold and uncaring as it had been. "I don't care what you do."

"Ah, but you did ask me why I was following you," he pointed out. "So somewhere deep down in that little heart of yours, you do care."

"Like you cared when you sent that e-mail? Detailing your newest handbag for me?"

Ouch. Heath's jaw worked as he tried to find words that wouldn't insult her further. "It was a stupid mistake. Years ago. I wasn't thinking."

"That's obvious."

"You can't hold it against me forever, Fly," he started, getting angry himself. "We never said we were dating exclusively—and I thought you were my best friend."

She stopped running suddenly and finally looked at him. Her eyes were red, like she'd lost some sleep herself. But the anger, the pure fury in her eyes is what set his veins on fire. "You think I don't know that?" she yelled. "You think I wasn't beating myself up for _months _wondering why—" She stopped to take a breath to calm herself, probably realizing that it was about 5:30 in the morning and people were still sleeping. "Wondering why I never told you back then what I wanted? That I wanted to be your girlfriend—your _only_ girlfriend?"

"I never said you didn't," he ground out.

"I was too afraid to say it," she let out a humorless laugh and threw her hands in the air. "Whatever stupid reason I had then is a mystery to me now."

"Fly—"

"Now's not the time," she interrupted him, checking her watch. "We have to get back to the house for training." And she took off, sprinting back to the house.

They were both angry with one another. Talking it out was pointless right now; they'd only end up arguing in circle. Heath didn't bother to try and catch up.

"Alright, so this is how it's gonna work," Bec began as soon as everyone was situated on the beach. They were split up into two groups—the mentors and the kids. "You guys will get to pick one of us to mentor you for the day—but don't worry if you don't get the person you want today. Tomorrow's another day."

Heath yawned. He was running on maybe two or three hours of sleep and had just run at least a kilometer easily. This was not going to be fun. He made a mental note to sleep more that night, whether sleeping pills were involved or not was still up in the air.

"Alright, Grayson, you're in the lead for points, so you pick first," Bec decided.

"Well, that's easy," he scoffed. "I pick Edge." Edge nodded, grabbed his board, and then followed the kid down the beach a ways.

"Next is Shelly."

"Matt," she replied quickly.

Matt's eyebrows shot up, but he stood up and followed the girl away.

"Jason?"

"Well," a dark haired boy started slowly, taking in the older group. "Not much good to pick from."

"Just pick or you'll be stuck with me."

"Oh, please, no," he muttered, taking another glance over. "I'll go with Pretty Perri."

She smiled and helped him off the sand. "Your funeral," she grinned, causing him to moan.

"Damian, your pick?"

Another boy, this one muscular, like Edge had been, but with short black hair stood up. "Fly," he said, handing Fly her board.

"Next is Kacy." Bec looked down at the girl.

"I want you, Bec."

"Alright," Bec stood. "That means Steph—you're with Heath."

He looked over at a tiny blonde girl that reminded him oddly of Fly. She had on a huge grin as she held both his and her boards in her arms.

"What are you so excited about?" he asked jokingly. "It's 6:30 in the morning and you have me for a mentor today."

"That's _why _I'm excited," she told him as they found their own bare section of beach.

Heath hadn't given much thought to a training schedule. He couldn't let this girl down. Heath thought back to the day before when Bec had briefly pointed out each of the kids. What had she said about Steph? That she had confidence issues? Yeah.

"Oh?" he said finally. "And why does that excite you?"

Her smile faltered and then fell into a thoughtful frown. She looked out to the sunrise, a finger on her lip. "I dunno, really."

"Alright, so where to start," he muttered. "What are you exceptionally bad at?" She hesitated. Yup. Confidence issues, alright. "It's okay. You don't need to be embarrassed or anything—guaranteed whatever problems you have, _one _of us is bound to have had the same issue."

"Well," she began in a mumble. "Bec says I surf like a cheerleader sometimes."

"What?"

"She says that I start off strong, but 'titter off' is I think how she described it."

"Okay," he sighed, looking out to the waves. "Let's give it a go then. We'll start out in the water since everyone else is on the beach."

"Right."


	5. Chapter 05

**Sooo sorry I forgot to update yesterday. Someone asked me why I would have less time once school ended instead of more. Well, being a sophomore in college, I need money. And to get it, I have to have a job. I have a pretty good one which pays 9.25 USD an hour. (Roughly translated, 8.85 AUD an hour.) Our minimum wage is 7.25 USD. (6.50 AUD) And I work at a community pool as the assistant manager (highest position there :P I AM EVERYONE'S BOSS :D) so once summer starts I work A LOT. But on Fridays since I don't have school on Fridays I work all day. BTW: Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day in America, so don't expect an update too soon haha**

**ANYWAYS, tell me stuff about Australia. Is gas as overpriced there as it is here? Is it a big issue?**

Heath ducked his head in towards his chest as he touched his toes to hide his yawn. He and Steph had just gotten back from a sprint in the soft sand and were stretching..

Steph flopped back and sighed. "Man, I am so tired." She turned her head to look at him. "Are you?"

"You have no idea," he chuckled. Even though he had tried to boost her confidence by not putting her down, she still seemed to hesitate at all the wrong moments. It's not that she wasn't good; it's just that she could be so much better. "So Steph."

"Hm?"

"What do you think of your surfing?" he asked, lying back with her. The sun had risen and was a blindingly bright point on the horizon behind them.

She was silent, contemplative. "I think, right now, I'm the weakest link. I got in because another girl stuffed up."

"You know that's not true," he denied.

"But it is." She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. "I'm the youngest, the smallest. Sometimes I can't hold my own on my board."

"Surfing has nothing to do with size," he told her, grunting as he sat up, too. "I once knew a girl. You remind me of her." Steph didn't respond, so he continued. "This girl, she was the youngest and the smallest, but she definitely wasn't the weakest—that was me."

She gave him a flat look. "Right."

"No, really," he defended. "The trick to getting rid of these confidence issues you have is to realize that you're _here_. Solar Blue didn't pick you because another girl stuffed up."

"But—"

"The judges don't just look at what you're doing on the wave. They look at what you're doing and compare it not only to the other contestants, but to what they know you can do."

She looked down at the sand. "It's not something that can just be done. I can't just say 'I'm the best' and believe it."

"No one's asking you to. And no, it's not that easy," he mumbled. "But from what I've seen today ad last night, you're a brilliant surfer and you deserve to be here." He paused. "Confidence isn't really your big issue. I think it's more than that."

"Then what is it?"

He glanced over at her. "I think it's more about a safety zone."

"A what?"

"Yeah," he nodded. When he said it aloud, the pieces began to click together in his head. "You need to get outside of your safety zone. Do things you're not totally comfortable with. You've fallen into a rut of only doing things you're comfortable with." Heath's voice had gotten fast with his excitement. He jumped up and looked around the beach.

"Wha do you mean?"

"Oi! Matt" He called, ignoring the girl. "I need a favor."

The redhead in question looked up from his own stretching curiously.

XXX

"You want _me _to _what_?" Steph snapped, board in hand on the edge of the surf.

Heath placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed out to where Matt was waiting in the water on a board of his own. "Go out there and knock him off as many waves as you can."

"But isn't that illegal?"

"That's not the point. This isn't a comp, so stop treating it like one. This is free surf and even if you'd never cut someone off usually—that's the whole point."

"To do things I wouldn't usually do."

He nodded. "That girl I was telling you about before? She looked cute and sweet and innocent until she started to become a threat."

"Yeah?" Steph muttered doubtfully. "And whatever became of her?"

"She went on to win the wildcard spot," a new voice chimed in. Perri stepped up next to Heath. Steph's eyes flicked over her shoulder to where Fly and Damian were doing crunches. "You know how, when you're alone and listening to music, you'll just burst into dance?" Steph just pursed her lips and stared out into the waves.

"Come on," Heath snickered, poking her in the side. "We all do it."

"Alright," she grumbled, hiding her smile and swatting his hand away.

"Well, do just that on the waves. Dance," Perri encouraged.

Steph took a deep breath and stepped into the water. "Whatever you guys say."

"That's the spirit!" Heath cheered.

Several moments later, everyone had come in except Matt ad Steph. Everyone was in a small mob in the sand waiting to see what would happen. Maybe the added pressure of everyone watching will only help, Heath thought.

Matt turned his board and began to paddle. But Steph cut him off before he could even stand up. For someone who was so shocked by the idea of cutting someone off, she sure did it well. But as soon as she was on the wave, she didn't do anything differently than she had been earlier.

"That's not dancing!" Perri yelled.

Heath could practically see her roll her eyes as Matt prepared for another wave. This time he was ready for her aggressive maneuvers and was able to get around her first block, but submitted to the second. Still, her surfing was more or less the same.

"Not enough, still!" Heath yelled.

Matt pushed himself closer to Steph and said something to her. She laughed and nodded. Again, they both went out. Again she blocked him off.

But this time, she was literally dancing on her board. It threw her balance off a bit at first, but she continued to correct herself and stay on the board as long as she could before she over corrected too much and fell off.

Everyone on the beach cheered as she and Matt walked in towards them.

"Okay, a little less literal dancing," Perri smiled.

"Yeah, but I get what you mean."

"Hey, Matt, what did you say to her?" Heath asked curiously as they all packed up to head back in to get ready for school.

"I told her to pretend you got a haircut and do a happy dance about it," he smirked, tugging on the end of a long strand of Heath's hair.

Heath laughed and pushed him away. "No, really."

"It's a secret, mate."

"And my hair is not that bad," he defended. They stood off to the side in the kitchen as the kids rushed about, gathering things for the day ahead of them and trying to shove food in their faces at the same time.

"Chew, Jason," Bec warned as she passed them.

"Hey, Matt, can you look at my science report before I have to hand it in today?" Shelly asked from the table, a folder laid out in front of her. "No one else in this house is willing."

Matt smiled. "Sure."

Heath watched from the corner. A sense of déjà vu and nostalgia washed over him. He grabbed a bowl of cereal and took it out to the back deck to eat it in the quiet, but Fly was already out there, a magazine rolled in one hand, a spoon in the other.

Maybe this was the last last chance. He sighed. With her, there would never be a final "last chance."

He took a seat in front of her. "What're you reading?"

"A magazine," she muttered without looking up.

He paused, not sure where to take this conversation. He could ask her what magazine she was reading, but that could make him seem like a pest. He could ask her how she was doing, but then again he had been a part of her disastrous morning run.

"Look, Fly," he sighed.

"I really don't want to talk right now, Heath," Fly said through her teeth. "That's why I came out here—to be alone?"

Something inside him sapped. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe it was their friendship literally snapping in two after the years of strain and tension. "What the hell's your problem?" he snapped. "From the moment I got here I've only been trying to work things out with you."

"Maybe I don't want to work them out," she yelled.

"Well that's a pretty childish reaction!"

"Don't talk to me about _maturity_, Heath," she growled.

"I'm not about to let everything we had die, Fly."

"We didn't have _anything_!" she screamed, throwing her magazine and spoon down before storming off back into the house, slamming every door in her path.

Heath leaned against the table and ran a hand over his face. It wasn't even nine in the morning and he was already having one hell of a day.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?"

Heath looked up to see Edge standing in the doorway. Beyond him, every other person in the house was staring at him from the kitchen. No one moved. Everyone was frozen in shock. Bec walked up behind Edge and kicked him in the back of the knee.

"Not now," he sighed and walked towards the shed. Nothing left to do but surf. Maybe it could help to improve his day a little. Maybe even cool him off.


	6. Chapter 06

**Ok. So, short one. Someone wanted some Edge/Bec so I put in a little.**

So Free Comic Book say was Saturday and it's still pretty underground even here in America. It's a day to help promote reading. You go to a place that celebrates it like a comic book shop or our city had it at a science center, too. And you get dozens of free comic books. People dress up like characters. The comic book shop I went to also had professional artists that would draw any character you wanted. I'm an artist so since they were doing a limited number of requests, I decided not to take a number for that. I'd just draw whatever I wanted anyways. I went to go see the new Avengers movie instead :D

**In response to another question: Minimum wage is the lowest amount of money your boss can give you. It's kind of hard to explain. I think I read somewhere that minimum wage in Australia is about 15 AUD.**

"So, what's the plan," Edge muttered as he lined up his stick with the cue ball.

"What do you mean?" Bec's eyebrows pulled together. "Plan for what?" The two decided to play pool to pass time while the other three showers were in use.

He straightened up and gave her a look. "Heath and Fly," he stated, like it should have been obvious. Edge leaned against the wall with his arms crossed around his pool stick as Bec took aim.

"I don't know," she muttered.

"Fly has helped out everyone in this house," Edge began to argue.

"I'm not saying she hasn't." She pushed the stick across the table. The cue ball slid into a solid red one, which knocked a yellow stripped one into a pocket.

"I just think it's time we return the favor. She deserves to be happy."

Bec walked around to table to get a different angle. "She's happy being a personal coach."

"But is she happy _romantically_," he questioned with an expression that made her laughed. She tapped the cue ball, but it didn't knock the ball she was aiming for into a pocket.

Edge pushed off the wall to take his turn. Bec stopped in front of him. "Yeah? And what has Heath done to deserve such a favor?"

"Surf safari," he stated simply.

"I see," she murmured with a sly grin. "So I guess we both owe them a favor."

"I don't like being in debt to Heath," he breathed as Bec stepped up against him. His hand found her hip, but someone in the doorway coughed.

"Shower's free," Matt informed them, trying not to smile. He held his towel around his waist with one hand. "I'll leave you to sort out turn order."

"So, I assume you want to go first?" Edge offered, stepping back a little, the moment ruined.

Bec frowned and cocked her head. "Or we could just save water…"

"And time," he agreed, helping her revive their moment as he grabbed her hand and hastily made for the stairs, giggling like teenagers.

XXX

Heath yawned as he stepped into the kitchen. Matt stood at the counter eating lunch. He wasn't really in the talking mood. He could hear his pillow calling him. A little debate went on in his head. To shower, or to shower later—that was the grand question of the moment. Better that than other things…

"You alright, mate?" Matt asked hesitantly, fork clanking against the plate as he placed both in the sink.

"Fine," Heath replied, grateful that he hadn't actually groaned outwardly. Laughter filtered through the walls from the upper floor. "What was—"

"Edge and Bec are in the shower," Matt said with a roll of his eyes. He leaned back against the counter, the unsaid "together" evident. "Really, Heath. This morning—"

"Forget it. Just let it drop," he grumbled, grabbing a glass and filling it with water from the tap.

"After what happened this morning, I don't think I can do that," Matt said forcefully. "You guys were screaming at each other—last time I saw you guys, you were best friends. And then you went out surfing for nearly five hours."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Heath sat down at the kitchen table with his glass of water, giving in. Fine. He would talk. Not that Matt would get what he wanted out of him, but they would chat.

"No," Matt agreed, sitting across from him. "There's not—but I know you. Just explain to me what happened. Why's her panties in a wad?"

"Long story short?" He looked up at his friend, hoping he would see that he really didn't want to explain it again.

"Long story short," Matt prompted.

"Long story short is that I did something stupid due to a miscommunication that she was partly the cause of and now suddenly I'm the only person at fault and I'm done trying to fix it." As Heath spoke, he found himself getting angrier and angrier. So much for all the cooling down the surfing had done.

"Well, it takes two people who want it to fix a relationship," Matt mused.

"Yeah, well, I'm done," Heath sighed.

"No, you're not."

It was true. No matter how many times he thought, spoke, _screamed _it, he couldn't make it true. "Well, for now, I'm just gonna go die on the couch. If Edge and Bec get any louder, kindly maim them for me?"

"Sure," Matt laughed as he watched Heath leave the room and collapse on the couch.


	7. Chapter 07

**I dearly apologize for getting this up here so late. I ended up working 9 hours today and then went to see the Avengers again and then found out Amendment 1 passed—which now means that if I'm every physically abused by a man, I have to marry him to be eligible for protection against him.)**

**So here's a little bit about America, for those readers who don't live here in this country of "freedom." **

**A lot of people here are freaking out over that whole "The world is gonna end on December 21, 2012" thing. Is that as big in other countries as it is here?**

Our country is made up of 50 states. I live in North Carolina. I have memorized all 50 in alphabetical order :P

America is pretty religious, hence the whole controversy over same-sex marriages. 

**We get mail on Saturdays in addition to the weekdays and it is picked up and delivered at the end of my driveway in a big black mailbox. **

**The American school year is from late August/Early September (depending on the state) until Late May/Early June. Schools are required to be in session for 180 days. So snow days usually take away days from breaks. And we also have bright yellow buses for kids who can't walk or get a ride to school. I rode one for all of middle and most of high school.**

**We tip people for EVERYTHING. Pizza deliveries, waiters/waitresses…etc.**

**We drive on the right side of the road.**

**You don't HAVE to vote on things here. There's a state voting for same-sex marriages tomorrow that I've opted not to participate in.**

**Sports in high school are INTENSE. School spirit is more or less mandatory, as annoying as it was for me. There were points where I wouldn't drive my own car to school because kids from rival schools would tag cars in the parking lot with spray paint.**

**We heat up water on the stove because electronic water heaters are EXPENSIVE. **

**But the most shocking difference I found on the internet was just that—internet usage. Here in America we have something called cable internet. This gives us free usage of the internet for one monthly payment. No download limits, no time limits. Nothing. **

**And the last thing: It's currently **

**Sorry the author not is so long. I'm sure I'll think of new things to add next chapter—I WILL MAKE UP FOR IT WITH A LONG CHAPTER FULL OF AMAZING HEATH/FLY-NESS.**

Hours later, the front door opened and let loose several chattering, loud teenagers. Bags dropped to the floor and shoes were abandoned.

"Alright everyone," Bec announced as she bounced down the stairs, Edge, Matt, and Perri following closely behind. "Homework, then training." She turned around and noticed Heath asleep on the couch. "Why, what's with him?"

"He's probably tired," Perri muttered.

"He got no sleep last night and then went surfing for five straight hours," Matt added.

"Wha a pansy," Edge stated loudly. "Can't keep up with us for even 24 hours, huh?" Without rolling over, Heath tossed his pillow, but Edge caught it easily. "You think you'd learn, mate."

"I don't need it," he grumbled into the cushion.

Edge looked at the others before walking over to Heath and sitting on his back. "You're here for a month. We will have no bitching, no moaning, and no complaining."

"No moping, no girlie feelings from you," Matt agreeing, joining him.

"Wow, Edge," Heath breathed. "Your fat ass seems to have gained some weight since I last saw you."

Matt Leaned down and ran his finger across the bottom of Heath's foot, while Edge jammed a finger into his side just beneath his ribcage. The combined efforts caused Heath to yell out and jerk beneath them.

Maybe they were right. Fly wasn't the only one he'd missed in seven years. Here were two other best friends he'd made. And they were seriously going to get it. Heath gathered all the strength he could and pushed himself up off the couch, easily knocking Matt to the floor. Edge was still holding on.

"Oh, so he does still have some fight in him," Perri laughed.

"Don't break anything," Bec sighed. She turned and sat down at the kitchen table with the three remaining kids to offer her help with assignments.

"I propose a pool tournament," Matt declared.

"Loser has to take a shower with Bec," Heath agreed, pushing Edge off of him.

"Excuse me?" Bec turned in her chair. "What?"

"That's not how the last game went?" Matt feigned confusion, looking from Edge to Bec and back again.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's how it went," Heath nodded, playing along. "Poor Edge." The man in question wrapped Heath in a headlock.

"Me and Perri against you two," Matt challenged.

"Deal." Heath jumped up. "You're at a disadvantage, Matt. You have the fairy princess," he mocked, poking Perri in the cheek as he passed her.

"Who's the fairy princess, Mr. Longhair?" Perri snapped back with a smirk.

"Oh, snap!" They all filed down the hall.

XXX

"Alright, well, the kids should be out of the water now, so I suggest surfing?" Perri stretched, bored with pool. An hour later and her back hurt from leaning over the table. She needed to stretch it.

"Is that a suggestion or an invitation to join you?" Matt asked.

"An invitation," she pretended to contemplate this. "On second thought, it would probably be easier for me if you didn't come."

"Why's that?" Matt asked, looking slightly hurt.

"Then I wouldn't have to worry about you getting in my way," she smirked and fled down the hall as Matt took off after her.

"You coming, mate?" Edge asked Heath from the doorway.

"Nah, I was out all morning. Think I'll hang out here." Edge gave him a smile and left.

Heath took his time. He needed something to pick him back up, he just wasn't sure exactly what. Seven years ago, what would he have done? And then it hit him. He had all of this footage of their group from seven years ago, why not shoot a month's worth of their reunion?

"The year is 2012. The occasion, is our first reunion after we all left seven years ago. The setting, Solar Blue. The subjects," Heath smiled into his camera before turning it around and pointing it towards his friends in the water. "The best group of people I've ever met—Solar Blue Surf Academy's class of 2005."

He found a place in the sand and picked out each person. His mental roll call confirmed that Fly had in fact been avoiding him all day, seeing as she was out there tearing it up with the rest of them.

"We've got Edge. Real name Dean Edgely, male winner of the Solar Blue wildcard. He's not as angry as he was years ago." He shifted the camera as a new surfer took up a wave. "Perri Lawe, still the Gold Coast Fairy Princess." Perri jumped off her board suddenly as she passed Matt, sending a smile wave of water into his face. "That brings us to Matt, the genius of the group. Which is probably how he found a way to make the fairy princess fall for _him_."

He waited until a new set of waves started and someone new mounted their board. "Bec Sanderson. Head of the Solar Blue surf academy since 2008, I think." He switched gears and turned the camera on himself. "Anna's not here at the moment, but I've been told she'll join us whenever little miss champion kite boarder gets a spare moment."

He knew he couldn't avoid it any longer, but leaving her out would be not only mean, but low. And low he was not. Heath had said he'd get over her, so to do that, he needed to fake it. Fake it 'til you make it. So until she didn't matter to him, he would pretend she was just another one of the guys.

"Last but certainly not least, we have Fly." He focused on the blond in question as she stood up on her board, her wet hair flying, a gorgeous smile plastered on her face. It was always obvious to anyone who watched her surf just how much she loved the sport, because she wore it on her face. Heath realized he'd been staring and cleared his throat.

"Real name Fiona, but more importantly, winner of the girl's wildcard. She might be small, but she's the best surfer I've ever known. And the thing I love the most about her—" Heath caught himself and quickly shut the camera off. He let out a sigh of relief when, the second he set the camera in its case, Fly hopped off her board and began to wade through the water to shore. And if he wasn't mistaken, her trajectory was right at him.

She sat down in the sand next to him and undid the strap on her ankle. "I think I need to apologize."

"No need," he told her, taking a deep breath and staring out into the waves. "You were just…letting me know how you felt and I respect that."

"It was the way that I said it that I need to apologize about," she sighed. "No matter what happened, I had no right to yell at you the way I did." Heath said nothing. "I was hoping we could be civil with each other. At least for the sake of everyone in the house if not for ourselves."

Civil. Not friends. Not even _acquaintances. _Civil. Fine. She wanted civil, he could be civil. "I think I can uphold to that."

She gave him a smile but said nothing, and he found himself wondering what she was thinking about. Did she regret everything they had had once upon a time? No, he couldn't see her regretting it, but he also couldn't see her looking back at it too often. Once, she had been and extremely forgiving person. Maybe she had gotten over that, too.

"You still recording everything?" she asked suddenly, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah," he smiled, lifting it back out of its case and turning it on. He angled it at her and gave her a sideways smile he would give anyone. Just another one of the guys, just another one of the guys, he chanted.

You want to kill a plant, you stop watering it—this right here is water, he thought to himself.

"So what has the great Fiona Watson, winner and pro surfer been doing with her life for the past seven years?"

"I was in the circuit for about five years, now I'm a personal coach like Bec."

"Such a short answer," he mused.

"Yeah, well, not much other than that has been going on. Those are the highlights." She turned away from him and glanced down the beach." Suddenly, she took the camera from him. Afraid she would rewind it or worse—watch what he'd already taped, he reached to take it back, but she jerked it away from him.

Suddenly, Heath found himself on the other end of the lens. "What are you doing?" He watched as she found and hit the record button.

"So, Heath. Your viewers are _dying _to know what _you've _been up to these past seven years." She was looking at him through the digital screen.

He pursed his lips in thought, trying to come up with just as short an answer as she had given. "This and that," he replied with a shit-eating grin.

"Oh, come on," Fly groaned. "Even I gave more than that. Seriously."

"Okay," he drawling. "I left Solar Blue after playing nanny, got a job as a professional photographer, I love it and have been climbing the ladder ever since, and now here I am, back at Solar Blue."

Fly smiled and nodded, shutting it off and replacing it where it had been when she sat down. "I think I'm gonna go catch a wave or two before it gets dark. You gonna be here a while?"

Fly nodded. "I needed a break. My wrist was starting to hurt."

"Right. Watch my stuff?" he asked. Was that something you asked a…civil buddy to do? Either way, she agreed and he took off down to the water with his board. Kill the plant. Stop watering it.

Too bad they both lived near the ocean.

XXX

Fly let out a shuddering breath she didn't know she was holding and slipped Heath's camera into the opened pouch and zipped it closed. Hopefully he wouldn't watch it any time soon. Everyone was gathering their things and heading back towards the house, so she grabbed her stuff and Heath's camera and headed in to join them.


	8. Chapter 08

**Ok. I'm calling you out, Sophie. That last chapter that you said I needed to work on my lengths because you read it in like a few minutes? That was 5 pages in Microsoft Word. Over 2000 words. That was by far the longest chapter! The one before it was 900 words! Haha I said the chapter length wouldn't be consistent. This one is like 1500.**

**I apologize for not updating—I worked 8 hours Tuesday, 9 hours Wednesday and now my Thursday is looking like a long day, too. (It's currently 1:30 AM on Thursday.)**

**Anyways, I hope this leaves a cliffhanger because who knows when I'll get to update next :P **

**American fact of the chapter: Although most of the US speaks English, we do not have an official language. We DO have many different dialects and accents, though. Boston (AKA Northern), Southern, Western, Mid-Atlantic, Eastern…etc. I was born in the north, but moved to the south 13 years ago so I have a hybrid accent. Words I don't use often like "carrot" have a distinct Northern accent, but Southerners tend to say "yall" (as a shortened "you all") when referring to "everyone" while Northerner's say "yous". I say "yall" my parents say "yous."**

A week later and neither Heath nor Fly had really said much to one another. True to her word, Fly was civil. But Heath could only find himself treating her like another one of the guys. He couldn't make himself ignore her the way she did to him.

How could she ignore him so easily. Maybe there was even more to the anger than she had let on that morning. That or maybe she no longer held more-than-siblings kind of feelings for him. Or both.

By the time Heath got done with his shower after dinner, it seemed quiet. He grabbed his camera and walked down the hall towards the kitchen, glancing into the rooms as he passed. Empty.

The sound of two pool balls hitting each other reached his ears followed by an eruption of divided cheers. Heath grinned and switched the camera on.

"Now what we have here is a rare sight." He headed for the rec room quietly and turned the camera on himself. "It seems everyone is attending a secret pool tournament that no one happened to tell _me _about."

"You're just getting lucky. I'm having an off day," an American accent claimed.

"No, I think it's just that you're not as skilled as you kept bragging to be," a male voice teased.

"Well, I think my invite got lost in the mail," Heath announced, stepping into the doorway and aiming the camera into the crowded room. "Seems most everyone is in attendance." All of the older crew was there, but only about half of the younger ones. The other three had taken to the showers. He tried to ignore Fly, pool stick in her hand, looking at him with her grand poker face on.

"No, mate," Matt laughed. "I think it actually got lost in your hair." This threw the older group into laughter.

"Oh, let it die," he groaned.

"You're not still obsessed with recording everything, are you?" Bec whined.

"Aw, you know you love it," Heath grinned.

"I just got the best idea," Perri chirped, jumping off her seat on the windowsill.

"Last time _you _got a 'good idea'," Jason began, using air quotes, "I got smacked in the face with my board."

"No, that was _brilliant_," Kacy laughed.

"No, no," Matt started slowly, waving them all away. "I think we're on the same page here." He grinned outright and waited for her to continue.

"Pool tournament, Heath loses and he has to cut his hair back down to the length it was in 2005," she announced proudly. The room was silent for a second before it exploded into chaos.

"I thought you were going to say something else," Matt muttered, crestfallen.

"Mate, there're children in the room," Edge burst into laughter. The noise was visibly getting to Bec. Her eyebrows pulled together and she let out a whistle that shut them all up immediately. She turned to Heath, who hadn't said anything, hadn't moved an inch, and raised her dark brows at him.

"Well?"

"Challenge. Accepted." He snapped his camera shut and passed it off to Fly, taking her stick from her. "And who is my victim?"

"Are you playing on teams?" Steph questioned, crossing her arms.

"I'm not risking my precious hair on someone who will only stuff up just to see me lose," Heath declared, twisting his hands tightly around his stick. "No, this is a one man show." He pointed his stick at Fly. "Make sure you record my success." He realized what he was doing. Treat her like one of the guys. Ok. But wasn't _her _plan just to be civil? Stick to her plan. He swung the pole and pointed it at Perri. "You made the bet, what's your wager?"

"Me?" She seemed surprised.

"You can't pick on a _girl_," Jason gasped. Perri rounded on him, eyebrows at her hairline. Matt and Edge exchanged a look. She more or less stomped over to Steph and took the pole she held out for the woman.

"What's your wager?" Heath repeated.

"If she loses," Fly spoke up, with the same spark and energy that Heath remembered so well. Stop, he scolded himself quickly. "She cuts _her _hair."

"No way," Perri immediately rejected the idea, running her ringers through her long blond hair. "Why don't _you _play and _you _can bet _your _hair."

"Because I don't care either way about my hair," Fly retorted quickly.

"She's got a point," Bec said softly with a smile. Perri glanced around the room at all the hopeful faces.

"Fine," she groaned. Matt took her place on the windowsill with a smirk Heath knew all too well.

"No cheating," he muttered to her as she set the balls up.

"Unlike you," she scoffed, "I don't need to."

"We'll see."

"Fly, make sure you get Heath's face when he loses," Edge laughed.

XXX

Heath leaned back into the couch in the lounge and ran his hands through his hair for the millionth time in the last hour. It felt strange. Lighter. Better and more familiar. Why had it taken him losing a bet to finally get it cut? He instantly looked younger, at least, that's what Perri and Bec claimed as they watched pieces of his dark hair fall to the floor.

It was late. The kids had all gone to bed as it had been well past curfew by the time the pool game ended. Most of the older group had decided to head off to bed, too. As far as Heath could tell, only he and Matt, who were sleeping in the lounge, were still awake.

"What have you recorded on this thing so far?" Matt joined him, Heath's video camera in his hands. He sat down next to him and kicked his feet up onto the table, dropping the device into the man's waiting hands.

"The first half is a surf comp I covered a few months ago," he mumbled, turning it on. "The second half is all us." The tape had filled up and he was curious to see everything he had recorded since arriving. His hit the rewind button and stopped when the numbers matched what he remembered to be the end of the comp.

"_The year is 2012. The occasion, is our first reunion after we all left seven years ago. The setting, Solar Blue. The subjects—the best group of people I've ever met—Solar Blue Surf Academy's class of 2005,"_ Heath's distorted voice chirped from the terrible speakers as soon as he hit play.

"I did a little intro," Heath laughed. Matt sat up straighter and leaned over so that they could both see the tiny screen. They watched as Heath introduced each of them.

"_Last but certainly not least, we have Fly."_ Heath's fingers moved to fast forward, but Matt caught his wrist and forced him to endure it. The camera focused on her. The sun glittered on the drops of water flying off the tips of her sun-bleached hair. A coughing sound erupted from the speakers and the camera shook for a second_. "Real name Fiona, but more importantly, winner of the girl's wildcard. She might be small, but she's the best surfer I've ever known. And the thing I love the most about her—" _The voice stopped suddenly and the camera shut off, the screen going blue for a second before it turned back on, focusing on the sand.

"What happened?" Matt asked.

"Fly came up onto the beach and we talked for a while. We agreed to keep things…civil," he explained, eyebrows furrowing at the image on the screen. He didn't remember this. The next thing he remembered recording was the kids in the house.

"Civil?" Matt raised an eyebrow, but looked back down at the camera.

"_How do I know if it's recording?" _A female voice muttered.

"That's Fly," Matt whispered, confirming what Heath already knew.

The camera spun and suddenly, Fly's face was in the frame. From what she was wearing, and the time of day behind her, Heath knew exactly when she had done this. It had been right after she told him to keep things civil for everyone else's sakes. _This _wasn't civil. This was water on the plant.

"_Heath,"_ his attention perked at the sound of his name. _"I know I agreed to keep things less than friendly with you." _Her eyes shifted to something far off in front of her—no doubt him, on the surf. _"But I also know you probably won't watch this tape until after we've all left the house again. By then, who knows how I'll feel."_

"What is this?" he mumbled.

"Only one way to find out," Matt told him. "And I really don't think it's meant for me to hear, so let me know when you're done." And with that, Heath found himself alone with a recording Fly had made for him. A recording she even said she didn't intend for him to see until they all had parted. He only had one question.

Should he watch it?

Hell yeah.


	9. Chapter 09

**Another longer chapter.**

**Because it would.**

**Not.**

**End.**

**Anyways…**

**American fact of the chapter: American school goes like this: Preschool is age 4, Kindergarten is age 5, Elementary school is grades 1-5, Middle School (or Junior High in some places) is grades 6-8, High School is grades 9-12. College is 18 years and up. My school day ran from 8:45AM until about 3:30PM. Elementary was 7:30AM until 2:30 PM due to the bus schedule. And they tend to be Monday-Friday.**

Heath sat slouched down into the couch in the lounge, turning his camera over in his hands. What should he do now? What _could_he do now? In some corner of his mind he registered the sounds of Bec and Fly in the kitchen, helping everyone get ready for school. He had gotten up, gone through their training with them, but his mind was more or less consumed by what he had seen on the tape.

He ran a hand through his hair and stood up. Only one thing left to do. And maybe it was the _right_thing to do. If he ignored it, it would definitely be like dumping a bucket of weed killer on the plant, but what he was _about_to do, would probably only prolong the plant's death for a little while.

Or maybe not.

Only one way to find out.

"Fly." At the sound of her name, all six kids, Bec, and Fly looked up at Heath, who stood at the bottom of the stairs holding up his camera for her to see. "We need to talk."

She visibly froze. He could see her face pale a bit right then. It was like a kid getting caught with their hand in the jar. And Heath had caught her red handed. She nodded shortly and averted her eyes. She took her bowl and spoon to the sink soundlessly and then followed him up the stairs.

XXX

_Several Hours Ago..._

"_Heath, I know I agreed to keep things less than friendly with you, but I also know you probably won't watch this tape until after we've all left the house again. By then, who knows how I'll feel."_There was a pause and Heath sat back down onto the couch in disbelief. _"When you sent me that e-mail I just...You know me—I can't express my feelings the way I probably should."_She tilted her head back and her hair fell out of her face, displaying her blushing cheeks.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she spoke again. _"Heath. We were best friends. Immediately after meeting. It wasn't a coincidence that we met that day during finals. It was something else."_She paused again and then let out a trill of a laugh._ "I don't even know what to say."_

"Me either," he mumbled to himself in response.

_"Remember..."_ She seemed to grab onto a thought. _"Remember Jane?"_ Who? _"Well, I do. You probably don't. I think you were infatuated with her for, like, three days."_ She scratched the back of her head. _"Anyways, I remember telling you after that whole ordeal, that even my dad let the cattle dogs make one mistake, but if they did it a second time, he shot them."_

"Oh," Heath sighed, remembering. "That."

_"I think that's why I've held a grudge for so long, because I got stuck in that whole 'you only get one second chance' way of thinking."_ Fly bit her lip and the camera bounced around for a second before she steadied it_. "No matter how hard I try, I think I'm permanently stuck in this immaturity circle. I couldn't tell you that I liked you. A lot. I couldn't even keep in touch when you told me you'd moved on. So what do I do? I pulled a high school move-I held a grudge and acted like a brat. But then, a few years ago, I shattered my wrist on a rock." _

She paused and suddenly her voice was higher and it broke several times when she said, _"I didn't quit the circuit voluntarily. I was forced to quit because I couldn't even get myself up onto my board, let alone paddle out." _She stopped to wipe a stray tear from her faced quickly. Heath suddenly wanted nothing more than to comfort her, to hold her. Pro surfing was literally her _life_, and now she was forced out of it? So the whole "I got bored" thing was just an excuse.

_"But as I was lying in the hospital thinking about how I'd ended up at that point in my life, I remembered when I knocked my tooth out just after we met. I started my career in the hospital, and now I was ending it there. And before I knew it, I was calling you."_ Heath's heart dropped. _"You answered and you sounded so happy that I just couldn't bear the thought of tearing you away from that, so I hung up."_ No, no, no.

Heath was tempted to fast forward. There had to be a point to this. Why did she decide to record this right after telling him she didn't even want to be friends? Why tell him all of this if she wanted nothing to do with him anymore?

_"I'm rambling,"_ she muttered before looking dead into the camera. Suddenly, the confident Fly was back, the familiar spark in her eye that he loved. _"What I really wanted to say was that I do still want to be friends. And I'm sorry. I just can't help feeling this intense regret. I wish I could have been brave enough to keep in touch with you, to make it clear that I liked you." _Heath didn't miss the way she referred to her feelings in the past tense. _"But I know I'll regret it more if I let everything we ever had drift away."_

Heath smirked.

"_You were right in that aspect," _she muttered, looking away from the camera. _"There was something—we never put a name to it or a label, but there was something." _Again, past tense. _"So I decided just now when you went back to surf that I would record this on here. I just hope you don't see it any time soon because I just want to make sure this is what's good for us." _The camera clicked off before restarting, this time inside the house, where he followed the kids. He shut it down and sat it on the table in front of him.

A spark of anger rose in his chest. Who was _she _to decide what was right for them? He felt like their whole relationship hinged on her and her decisions. He felt a bit powerless.

XXX

Fly followed Heath up the stairs and into the empty bedroom she was staying in. She sat down on one of the two beds and waited for Heath to shut the door, her heart pounding in her ears.

Heath crossed his arms. His body language was tense, but otherwise neutral. She couldn't decide if he was angry or hurt or just upset.

"Do you want to start or should I?"

She shook her head, an automatic denial slipping from her lips. "I don't know—"

"The video," he told her calmly. "Tell me about it."

"I didn't think you'd see it this soon," she whispered, her eyes sticking to him. Confident Fly was still there somewhere.

"Please, explain something to me," he started, leaning up against the wall and sliding down until he was sitting.

"I thought I was pretty clear in the video." She gestured to the camera in his hands.

"No," he shook his head, "explain to me what you would have done if I hadn't seen this." She remained silent. "I just don't understand what you would have wanted me to do if I _had _seen this weeks after we'd all parted."

"What _would _you have done?" she asked curiously. "Because in all honesty, I don't know where that came from."

"From you, obviously—and I'm not sure what I would have done," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I like it, by the way." He looked up at her, confused. "Your hair."

He stood up and placed the camera on the desk before joining her on the bed. "What did I do wrong, really?" She stared up at him, blond eyebrows pulled together. "Wha did I do that was so bad that you never wanted to speak to me again, that you couldn't even come and tell me you still wanted to be _friends_." The word "friend" was bitter in his mouth, but he forced it out anyways. Maybe being friends was better than nothing.

She stood up abruptly and paced the room in front of him, suddenly speaking a mile a minute. "See, the thing about it is, it's not even about you—it's me. And I know most people say that but it's really just about me. _I _was unsure, _I _was changing and…" She threw her hands up in the air with a groan. "I don't even know how to explain this correctly."

"Fly…"

She spun on him and continued. "It's like this—you were always there for me, this unchanging, unmoving rock that I always knew would be there. I took that for granted. I never told you what was going on in my head so you didn't _know_." He stood up and forced her to stop pacing by grabbing her shoulders, but she continued to speak. "And then your e-mail just caught me off guard because in my head you were my boyfriend, but it was never said out loud, so I really had no right to be angry."

"Have you been talking to Bec or Matt?" he accused. "Be angry if you want. I'm not going to tell you that you don't have the right. But what I need you to do is start telling people what you want. Do you want—"

"I want to be friends," she blurted out.

He let out a small smile, a small fragment of the happiness that swelled inside him. "Well, I think that can be arranged." She grinned back. His hands slid down her shoulders and wrested on her wrists. "There's still one other thing that needs to be discussed." He flipped her hands over and brought them closer to his face. Sure enough, her left hand was covered in pink shiny scars.

Fly jerked it out of his grasp a littler rougher than she intended to. "I really shouldn't have mentioned that."

"But…you did."

She inhaled and shut her eyes tight. "I can't surf professionally anymore," she whispered. "I tried for a year, but I just couldn't catch back up with it. The sponsor dropped me a few months ago."

"But you said—" A sobbed wracked through her body and suddenly what she had said didn't matter anymore. "Next time you call, _don't hang up_," he told her, reaching out and gathering her into his arms. She wrapped her own arms around his waist. Heath could feel her digging her nails into his back.

Heath was at a loss. This wasn't the Fly he knew. She was crying, nearly hysterical, in his arms.

"I can't—I won't—" she stuttered, pulling away from him and wiping at her face.

"I've been watching you surf for the last several days, Fly," he told her, gripping her shoulders and leaning down to look her in the eye. "You're still the best among us. You won't let this keep you down for long. We may not have had contact in the last seven years, but I know how you are. You'll find a way. It's what I like about you."

Heath blinked in surprise when she suddenly lurched forward, her lips meeting his.


	10. Chapter 10

**This is a super short chapter. I apologize. I just wanted to get something up to let you guys know I'm not dead and fully intend to keep posting frequently. Things were a bit hectic this weekend. Saturday I was teaching the colorguard at band camp for my old high school, but my older brother also graduated from college and my little sister moved back from the same college for the summer so I've been like for days now. **

**Let me know what you think the group is gonna do to get Fly back into surfing professionally?**

**American fact of the chapter: SUNBURN HURTS. This is why us nerds stay indoors ;_;**

Heath bounced down the steps in a haze. Matt watched him walk into the lounge like a zombie and flop down on the couch near his feet.

"Heath." The man seemed to focus enough to look at Matt. "What happened?" he asked.

"She kissed me?" It came out more like a question than a statement. Matt sat up and turned the TV off.

"And?" he prompted quickly, trying to control his eagerness. "Start from the beginning. What did she say about the tape?"

Heath took a deep breath. "She didn't think I would see until we had all gone off on our own again. She went on to say that she wants to be friends still. But more importantly, she told me what really happened to her in the pro circuit."

"And what _really _happened?" a new voice asked flatly. Heath looked up to see Bec standing with her arms crossed and eyebrows pulled together, a look of concern and slight anger on her face. Edge stood behind her with a similar look.

Heath hesitated.

"House meeting?" Edge suggested quietly.

"House meeting," Matt agreed, standing. "I'll go get Perri."

"Meet in the rec room in five. I'll get Fly into the shower or something," Bec commanded.

XXX

"She's gonna be mad I told you guys," Heath sighed.

"You're doing her a favor as a friend," Perri argued. "She deserves to be as happy as the rest of us."

"I just feel like I've betrayed her trust right after she finally started to trust me again," Heath groaned, running a hand through his hair. Would he ever get used to it? Probably not. He felt more lost in this moment than he had ever felt in his entire life. He barely knew who _he _was anymore.

"You're not betraying her trust," Matt told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Heath shrugged him off and pushed a pool ball across the table angrily. It bounced off the side and crashed hard into a gathering of several other balls. "I just don't want to piss her off again—it didn't work out so well for me last time."

"If we can get her back into the circuit, she'll be _thanking _you!" Bec said enthusiastically.

"What if she doesn't _want _to?" he challenged, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.

"What she doesn't _want_, is to put us all out, to burden us," Edge explained. "Did she seem like she missed it, like she wanted to go back?"

Heath hesitated, before deciding that the grave he was digging himself couldn't really get any deeper. He couldn't have put more weed killer on the plant than he just did. And shit had yet to hit the fan. "She was crying," he told them quietly.

"Hard," Bec added. "She was trying to cover it up when I walked in, but she just kind of fell apart."

"This doesn't feel like the Fly I remember," Perri muttered. The silent agreement hung in the air. Suddenly the floor was thrust into pure silence as the shower finally clicked off.

"If anyone has any ideas as to how to get her back into the circuit, share with the rest of the class," Bec whispered quickly, heading for the door.

"Meeting adjourned," Edge muttered, following her.

No one else dared to move. Foot falls echoed in the empty hallway and Heath looked up as someone appeared in the doorway.

"Secret meeting no one told me about?" Fly's cheeks were red from either the heat of the shower or maybe even her intense crying, and her hair dripped on the hardwood floor. No one responded. "Guys?"

"Get dressed, Fly," Heath said, voice light, as he pushed off the wall. "I'm going into town, and _you're _coming with me." He brushed past her and headed down the hall.

"And what if I had other plans?"

"Cancel them," he called back, halfway down the stairs. "This is not optional."


	11. Chapter 11

**Let me start off this little chapter with this:**

To the reviewer known as "GRRRRRRR":  
Your words are unnecessary and rude. I apologize for not updating, but I warned early on that they would be inconsistent. Calm yourself. I'm currently working 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. On my day off I do laundry and homework for my college summer classes. Sorry I don't have very much free time to write. I'm trying. 

**Anyways, thank you for all the words of encouragement I've received. I went to my sixth doctor this past Friday and he was a Rheumatologist—and says that I do not have arthritis. He took me off the insane amount of ibuprofen that I was taking and put me on a very strong muscle relaxant.**

Anyways…

I had a thought a few days ago when I was thinking about my story and my lovely readers and thought about making a short YouTube video about America. Thoughts?

"You don't owe me anything," Fly grumbled as they walked down the street past a line of shops.

"It's called 'being a friend,' Fly," he told her, wanting to add "_you should try it._." He stopped in the window of a display of surfboards. "Besides, I wanted to get out of the house." He hesitated when Fly stepped up next to him. "Have you thought of trying to get back into the circuit?"

Fly walked away. Heath watched her go, rolled his eyes, and followed her.

"It's not really any of your business," she informed him. Was it just him, or did her words have a bit of a bite to them?

"Actually, as one of your fans, I do think wondering where my idol went is within my rights to know," he told her calmly.

"Whatever," she sighed. "Did you even have any plans for today?"

Heath pursed his lips in thought. "No, not really, actually. Other than getting out of the house." He turned and grinned at her. "Mission accomplished!"

A silence fell between them that Heath wouldn't bother call awkward or tense, but Fly must have not felt the same way. She fidgeted as they walked down a path towards the beach. But he decided to be patient.

Sure enough, by the time they hit the water's edge, Fly was scraping up whatever emotions she had and opening her mouth to speak.

"Heath." He turned to her and gave her what he hoped was an inviting smile. "We really need to talk."

His heart sank. "What about?" he asked. If she wanted to talk about it, he was going to make her say it out loud. No beating around the bush.

"You know…"

Say it, he thought to her. He shook his head slowly. "I don't…"

She looked out to the glittering water and sighed loudly. "That kiss."

"What about it?" Heath jammed his hands into his pockets to keep them from shaking.

She took a deep breath and then looked directly at him. "I'm sorry. I'm not sure what I was thinking. I just want to be friends, Heath. I'm sorry."

He looked away and nodded. "It's fine," he managed to say without letting his voice give away what he was really thinking. "I kinda figured it was just some strange anomaly. I knew it wouldn't happen again." He gave her a smile but even he could feel how tight it was on his face. "Just mates."

"Just mates," she agreed.

XXX

Heath threw his phone against the kitchen wall and shut the back door rather loudly.

"Well, I'm assuming that's a bad sign," Matt remarked from the kitchen table.

"I'd rather it if you didn't put holes in the wall," Bec told him.

"Please tell me you guys came up with something?" he pleaded, sliding into a chair between Matt and Edge at the kitchen table.

"Well," Perri started hesitantly.

"We're bringing in reinforcements," Matt continued for her, grabbing Perri's hand beneath the table.

"What kind of reinforcements?" Heath wasn't quite sure he wanted to know.

"The kind that got us where we are today," Bec smirked. "Now, we don't have time to talk about this right now. The kids will be home any minute and I still need to organize training for the afternoon."

"But _Simmo_…?" Heath questioned as she walked by.

"Desperate times," Matt sighed theatrically.

"And it's not like you've been a lot of help," Edge smirked.

"Fly and I…" Heath couldn't help but feel a little depressed over the seriousness of that statement, despite the jocular tone. It was true. He'd only made her cry, so far. Some help he was. "Our relationship isn't the same as it used to be," he said finally before heading off to Bec's office.


End file.
